I rest my head on his shoulder. “I’ll miss that glow-ball thing.”
His free hand goes out in front of him, and he holds it steady. “Pick a color,” he says.
“What?”
“Pick a color. I want to try something.”
I stare at his palm. “Um…blue?”
He’s thinking, focusing. Within seconds, a blue orb materializes. This one has a much stronger light than the first one. He smiles.
“Red,” I say softly.
Sam rubs his lips together, and I wait. The ball changes color, the blue fading and quickly seeping into deep red hues. I laugh as I clap my hands together, and I list more colors. The orb turns purple, then green, and then diamond white.
He takes his burned hand from the water and puts it next to his other. The weightless ball doubles in size, and I gasp. Sam bounces it in his hands and sits back on his knees. For a few minutes, he tosses the orb. Then, he holds it in both hands and shakes the ball hard, creating a glittery array of colors that spin and streak.
“Huh,” he says to himself. Finally, he turns and winks at me. “Watch this.”
With the ball in one hand, he extends his arm behind him and pitches the orb into the air. It disappears into the dark, and for a moment, I think it’s gone, swallowed by the night.
But then, the sky ignites in flashes of color, like fireworks exploding above us and showering the sea with falling colors.
Under the illumination, we kiss and drown in our reunion, in relief at purging the truth, and in hope for the future.
